2017 Preparations

So on to the process of getting the boat ready to go. We had to retrieve our water maker pump from Watermaker Services in English Harbor. We’d rented a car for the day to run a few other errands as well, and we decided to explore Shirley Heights on the same day because we’d not been up there before. At the last minute, John and Genie from Island Time asked if they could go with us, so we all piled into this tiny car and headed for English Harbor.

When we picked up the Spectra watermaker, it was in this huge shipping box built to protect it from damage. The unit has several protruding pipes and pieces, and I didn’t want to see the costly pump damaged in the car, so in the box it stayed. I should have taken a picture! There was no way Joy and Genie could enjoy the rest of the day having to fuss with that huge box in their laps as we went from place to place. Thankfully, Karen in the office convinced Julian, the owner, to deliver the pump to us the next day since he was traveling to Jolly anyways for a service call. Whew.

Looking off to the Southwest from Shirley Heights

After making a few stops looking for stuff, stuff I have yet to find, we pointed the car up the hill to Shirley Heights. Why we’d never made the trip before I can’t imagine. This area is an Antiguan National Park with both restored and preserved structures from colonial days. There’s plenty to see while wandering the hilltops, and the view from this height is astounding. You can easily see Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Redonda, and Nevis. No wonder the British built a fort here.

Looking Down into English Harbor

Falmouth Harbor from Shirley Heights
One of these days we will have to make the trip for the Sunday sunset party; it should be fantastic.

Then I had to re-install the water maker high pressure pump, after resembling all the bits and pieces that is. I had a tiny leak in one of the high pressure connections, just 2 or 3 drops over a fifteen minute period, but we don’t allow leaks. So I fussed with that leak a bit before giving up and placing a small container under the drip to see what happened. After a few weeks of using the system the leak disappeared. Perhaps a bit of operational vibration wiggled the compression flare enough so that it sealed. I’ve discovered over the years that sometimes, things like that happen.

Here’s the Spectra pump in pieces

I then had to install a warranty replacement Vesper Watchmate Vision AIS, and in doing so, I’d decided to install an upgraded instrument panel to house all the smaller electronics. Our cluster of electronics has grown over the years as newer, larger, more efficient equipment has become available; there’s certainly far more equipment installed than Beneteau ever intended for this boat, and we’ve had to tickle our brains to find functional yet attractive ways to mount all this stuff. I think it came out all right.